Sunset: Fall of a Hero (Dayhound Saga Book VI)
by Rin de Tong Nou
Summary: Three years after the events of Apocalypse, Daniel Wilson tries to juggle his life between Wayne Inc., being the new Batman, and his failing marriage with Megan Morse. To make matters worse, Ra's Al-Ghul has suddenly stepped from the shadows, forcing Daniel to fulfill his destiny as Arbiter of Death. Chapter 10 is here!
1. Chapter 1

"I just think, Mr. Wilson, that the shareholders will be in favor of Wayne Incorporated selling weapons again." Mr. Jacobs, one of the board members of Wayne Incorporated said to me.

"For the last time, we are _not _starting weapon sales again." I said. "Thomas Wayne cut back on the weapon production, and Bruce completely stopped it. This is _not _the vision the Wayne's had, and, as prime shareholder and CEO, I am saying no."

"No offense, sir," he protested, "but you're not a businessman. You're a trust-fund br- kid. You haven't been to college. The only reason you're CEO is per Mr. Wayne's request."

"You seem to forget, Mr. Jacobs, that Mr. Wayne was not a college graduate either. And Thomas Wayne was not a businessman, he was a doctor."

"If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, you will think it's an idiot." Lucius Fox, head of the R&D department at Wayne Inc., added, "Albert Einstein said something like that. We would do well to remember that at this company. I can definitely attest to Mr. Wilson being one of the most intelligent people I know. Even though he's not officially a Wayne, Bruce Wayne chose him as the principal heir for the Wayne estate, including the many shares of the company that he owned."

In reality, Bruce had made two wills. In the other one, nearly everything went to Dick rather than me. It was all dependent on who chose to be Batman after his death.

It had been three years since he died. That was hard to believe. I had been Batman for a little more than two of those. It had been a good run, so far. No criminal knew that Batman had even died or disappeared. They all thought I was the same guy. They thought I was Bruce.

My phone started to vibrate. It was Barbara Gordon. She knew I was in a board meeting, why was she calling now?

"Will you excuse me?" I said to the members of the board, "I need to take this."

There were a couple of eye rolls, but no one said anything. I exited the board room and answered my phone.

"Hey Babs" I greeted, "What's up?"

"There's an emergency." She said, seriously, "Down at the Gotham United Bank HQ. Some guys are robbing the place. Military trained."

"Stay right there, I'm on my way. Is Jason with you?"

"No. He should be here any moment though."

"Ok, stand by for my arrival. If anyone makes a break for it, stop them."

"Ok, see you!" She said.

"See you soon! Love you, bye!"

Now, I know what you're thinking. I'm a horrible person for leaving Ms. Martian and moving on to Batgirl. That is not the case. Officially, to the eyes of the public, Barbara Gordon and I were in a serious relationship. We even lived together. But for us, it was just a Batman thing. It gave us an excuse to spend an excess amount of time together. I couldn't pull off the whole "Playboy billionaire" thing that Bruce had. I loved M'gann M'orzz too much for that. But I could pretend to be in love with Barbara. Don't worry, she didn't feel for me anymore either. We were just friends. We had never had sex, and the only times we'd ever kissed were in public with people watching. We only slept in the same room when the situation called for it. Honestly, our "relationship" was very convincing. So that "Love you, bye" I had said was purely for aesthetic purposes. While I did love Barbara, it was purely platonic.

I went to my office in Wayne Tower, and pushed a hidden button underneath my desk. A private elevator opened, and I pushed the basement level -5, which officially, did not exist. This was an extension of the Batcave. A "lair away from lair," if you will.

There, I suited up and hopped in the Batmobile.

It never felt normal, to be in the Batsuit. Although Bruce never wore the one I used, an advanced suit, which advanced technology and better armor, I felt like a ghost followed me in the suit. It was something that I never could get used to.

I sped out of the sewer, through the narrow streets of Gotham City, maneuvering the Batmobile with great skill. It was dusk. The sun was going down. The earliest Bruce had usually operated was now.

Since I put on the suit, which was significantly more advanced than any other Batsuit, criminals had began to do things earlier and earlier. I don't blame myself at all, I blame the suit. Not only did it allow me to move faster and hit harder than Bruce, but it also caused more fear than he did. I guess there was something about black and red that was scarier. Not to mention my eyes were not visible, but covered with red lenses that could glow if I needed them to. I was a metal hunk of terror in the night.

So, as the criminals started operating earlier and earlier, so did I. I would go out sometimes during the day, as early as noon, if needed. It had gotten worse in the past few months though. Crime had skyrocketed, and we weren't really sure why.

Eventually, I arrived at the bank. I drifted the batmobile to a stop, and ejected out of it, high into the sky.

"Batgirl," I said over comms, "I'm here."

"Got it. I am detecting movement on the 30th floor. Should I breach?"

"31st floor. Robin, you here yet?"

"Yes sir!" Jason Todd said lightly over comms, "Making my way up the stairs now."

"Good. Stop at 29. If they go down, intercept them."

Jason was 13 now. Just a few years younger than when I started this. He was nearly just as good as I was now though. Certainly a better fighter than Dick Grayson was at his age, judging from the recordings from when he was Robin. He missed Bruce, who was like a father to him, but he was loyal and someone I could trust to do things right. He had a bit of an anger issue, but we were working on that.

I glided quickly up to the 30th floor window and smashed through the glass, kicking over a guy holding a cigarette in one hand and a shotgun in the other.

"Shit!" Another yelled, who was some distance away, "It's Batman!"

They all started to open fire on me. Most of the shots bounced off my armor, but one penetrated and lodged itself in the Bat-shaped insignia on my chest. I threw down a smoke bomb and dove for cover.

"Master Daniel," Alfred's voice chimed in, "Please do be careful. You know how hard it is to remove bullets from the suit."

"Sorry Alfred," I groaned quietly, slightly bruised from the shot, "i can't react as fast in the new suit. Even with the new upgrades."

"I will send a new diagnostics report to Mr. Fox. In the meantime, please try not to get shot as much…"

"Did we get him?" I heard a guard say from behind my cover.

"I don't know," another answered, some distance away, "I don't see him anywhere."

I jumped out from behind my cover, springing on top of one of the guys. He let out a small scream, but I bashed him in the face before he could say anymore.

"Matt?" The last guy said, nearby. I heard the sound of a walkie-talkie activating, "Guys, Matt and Lenny are down. Batman's here, we need to abort."

"Got it." Another guy said over a walkie-talkie, "Firing up the chopper. Get out of there."

I heard the last guy running up the stairs.

"Batgirl, got one headed your way. Stop him. I'm headed up to the roof."

I ran towards a window and crashed through it. I spun around and shot my grapple gun at the roof. I zoomed through the air and landed on the edge.

"Crap! It's Batman!" A guy in a helicopter said. He shot at me with a shotgun. I tried to dive away, but the motors in the suit couldn't go fast enough, and so most of the shot hit my helmet.

I woke up in a moment to see the chopper flying away from me, too far from my grapple range.

"Sir, shall I send the Batjet?" Alfred asked me.

"No. It won't get here in time. I have another idea. Oracle, activate thrusters."

"Oracle" was the Artificial Intelligence that Barbara had developed to control the suit. At this point, Oracle 1.0 was basically just a fancy siri, but 2.0, which was currently in development, would be much more advanced, and able to help me out a lot more.

"Activating thrusters," I heard a woman's voice in my helmet say.

"Sir, we haven't tested the thrusters nearly enough. And you have never used them in actual flight!"

"This is the only option. We've done the math. It's going to work."

"Sir-"

"Oracle, disable comms." I said, cutting Alfred off. Kind of childish, but there was no other option. I felt the thrusters activating on my boots, and leaped off the roof.

I heard the rush of the wind in my ears. I was falling down, closer and closer to the ground. I held my breath. They had to work…

As I felt a forward thrust, I activated my wings. I rocketed up through the air, high above the buildings.

"Woohoo!" I yelled. I was flying! "Oracle, Target that helicopter."

"Targeting helicopter." She said, as the chopper began to glow blue on my helmet display. I dove towards it. I heard them talking through my amplified microphone.

"What the… Batman can fly? Since when?"

"Shit!"

I smiled in the suit. When I got close, i deactivated the thrusters, flipped through the air, and kicked the side of the tail of the chopper. The helicopter spun through the air. I grabbed the edge of the door and tore it open. One of the men in the chopper was in the ground. I soccer-kicked him in the head, and slammed his friend's head against the side of the chopper.

I made my way to the cockpit. The pilot drew a pistol on me while trying to regain control. I covered the end of the barrel with my left hand, and grabbed his arm with my right. He tried to fire, but the bullet couldn't penetrate my armor, so the gun exploded. He cried out, clutching his hand to his chest. I slammed his head against the dashboard.

The helicopter started to beep. I threw the unconscious pilot from the cockpit into the cabin. I jerked the handle, trying to regain control. A light started flashing, indicating we were losing altitude fast. As we were about 200 feet up, I got control of the spinning. I was about to pull the handle to make us go up, but the chopper came to a sudden stop.


	2. Chapter 2

Ch 2

I turned the chopper off as it slowly lowered to the ground. I smashed through the cockpit glass and existed the now-landed helicopter. Superman was standing there, smiling.

"Little early for bats to be flying around, isn't it? Sun hasn't even gone down yet."

"I had that under control." I growled at him.

"I know you did. I just wanted to help. That's what we do, right?" He looked around. There was a crowd gathering around us and the downed helicopter. "Maybe we should go somewhere a little more private. We seem to be gathering quite the fan club."

What? Did this guy even hear himself? Fan club?

I pulled my grapple gun from my belt and shot it at a nearby rooftop. I felt a rush of air behind me as Superman flew by, landing on the rooftop moments before I'd arrived.

"Danny," He said with a smile once we were on the roof. "You're doing a great job."

I took off my helmet and put it on the ground. My head hurt like hell from that shotgun blast, but there was no damage on my skin. I would probably wake up tomorrow with a horrible headache and some pretty bad whiplash though. It was certainly better than getting my head blasted off by a thug with a shotgun though.

"What do you want?" I asked, trying not to sound cold or distant. Alfred had been telling me that I needed to work on my people skills.

"The Justice League is having a meeting tomorrow night. We haven't seen Batman there since Bruce. I am here to formally invite you to that meeting."

"Is there anything big happening? Any big threats?" I asked.

"Well… no, but-"

"I won't be coming then."

"Batman is a principal member of the League. I really think-"

"Batman _was_ a principal member of the League. That time is over. I work alone now."

"That's not true." Superman interjected with some attitude. "You have Robin and Batgirl still."

"Look, Clark," I said, this time more calmly, "I don't think the League needs Batman. I'm still giving you all the necessary funds, but I don't care about the League. Call me when there's a real emergency."

Superman sighed and shook his head. He covered his face with his hands, then he looked at me and smiled.

"You know, you are _so _much like him." The Kryptonian told me, "That's exactly what he said when I first proposed the idea of the Justice League to him. He didn't want any part of it."

"What changed his mind?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Diana came and talked to him about it." Superman said, smiling. He was talking about Wonder Woman. I knew that Bruce had feelings for her. No wonder he joined the League after that. "Bruce was my best friend. You didn't know that did you?"

I shook my head.

"He always loved Diana. I knew he did. His heart rate would accelerate whenever she was around. Bruce's heart rate rarely ever got above 60 beats per minute resting. He never got stressed. But around Diana, it was different. I think I was the only member of the League who knew."

I nodded, though I didn't know what he was trying to do.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked calmly.

"There's more to life than living in shadow and faking as though you have a real life, Daniel. I know how you feel about J'onn's niece."

I turned away from him, blushing. I wasn't embarrassed of the fact that I loved her. I was embarrassed of the fact that I hadn't seen her in three years. I could've. I just… I felt different.

"Is she… how is she?" I asked quietly.

"Why don't you find out? She is technically still a Titan, but she does a lot of work with the League. I think she is considering joining us."

The Titans were no longer the team that they had been intended to be. Originally, it was supposed to be a preparatory "Justice League," the Teen Titans. But within the past few years, Dick had completely changed it. It was a separate team of almost equal caliber. I was proud of my best friend for his leadership. Although Starfire and Cyborg had left the Titans to join the Justice League, the Titans were just as strong. They even recruited a few more members. Surprisingly, even a few meta humans who we had defeated a few years back had been reformed and recruited.

"I don't know." I said quietly, "I don't think I can show my face to her."

"Why not?" He asked me.

"I haven't seen her in years. Honestly Clark, I am too ashamed now that I didn't reach out to her. It was the grief of losing Bruce at first, but now I am just ashamed of myself."

"Danny, the more you put it off, the worse you're going to-" he started to say, before looking off into the distance.

"What's wrong?" I asked, picking up my helmet from the ground.

"There's trouble. A bomb has just been set off near Arkham Asylum."

"What?" I asked, "We need to move."

"Agreed." He said, before taking off. I put my helmet on and jumped off the ledge. I activated my rocket boots and flew into the air.

"Batgirl, Robin, come in." I said over comms.

"Batgirl here. Batman, you're not gonna believe this…" Babs said over my radio.

"A bomb went off at Arkham?" I asked her.

"Yeah!"

"Superman and I are on the way:"

"Superman?" I heard Jason ask, admirably.

"Batgirl, contain as many inmates as you can. Robin, use the R-Cycle to set up a perimeter."

I heard Jason grumble a little, but no one else said anything.

"Alfred, any idea what happened?"

"Nothing definite." He told me, "However, the Police are reporting that this may be a possible terror attack."

"Who would set off a bomb at Arkham?" I asked, "It would be more effective to set one off downtown."

"Perhaps the League is Shadows, Master Daniel…" Alfred replied, his voice filled with disgust.

The League of Shadows was a group of assassins and terrorists. They were mostly religious fanatics, of a sort. They followed a Ra's Al-Ghul, who was called the Demon. Supposedly, he was an immortal, who had been the leader of the group for a thousand years. My suspicion however, was that it was led by successors who took the name of Ra's Al-Ghul and the title of the Demon. I had met the current Leader's daughter, Talia, before. It was the League's fault that Helena Bertinelli, my first girlfriend, had died in a battle. They had been trying to kill me, because of a prophecy stating that I would kill Al-Ghul and put an end to the Demon. Helena had died saving me.

But they hadn't attacked me in years. The last attack was just a week or so before Trigon had killed Bruce.


	3. Chapter 3

When I got there, the situation was pretty much contained. Batgirl and Robin were fighting a incapacitating escapees, and Superman was stopping them from escaping. I watched the Kryptonian work. While it didn't seem so to the normal eye, he was so gentle with the criminals. I had trained Supergirl to fight, so I knew how strong Kryptonians could be. Superman was able to crush a car with his bare hands. The way he was handling these would-be escapees was the way a normal man would handle a butterfly or a small lizard. He was so gentle.

I landed on the edge of the bridge to access the island right on time. There were 6 or so inmates who had stolen an armored truck. I stood my ground as they sped up towards me.

"Oracle, brace for impact!" I said. I felt the suit stiffen up and latch itself into the ground. We had only tested this a few times, all successful results. but it definitely worried the shit out of me to be hit by a large truck.

The truck crunched as it hit me. The two inmates in the front flew out. The car came to a dead stop. I walked over the the two guys who had flown out of the car as the suit unbraced itself. They were still alive, though one of them seemed to have a broken neck. The other had a few broken ribs. I pulled a portable neck brace from my belt and hooked it to the one with the broken neck, then I used my special glue that Lucius Fox had invented to glue him to the ground for a few hours. I turned the other one onto his side and instructed him not to move.

I called the Batmobile, and used the hulking vehicle to block off the bridge. I ran over to the others, who were standing around a pile of unconscious escapees.

"So you're really Superman, huh?" Robin asked him. Superman laughed.

"Sure am, son!" He said gleefully.

"I didn't know we were allowed to be happy!" Jason interjected, glaring at me.

"I never said that!" I defended myself, "it was Bruce who taught me that too!"

Superman laughed, but suddenly stopped.

"I need to get back to metropolis." He told me, "We'll talk later."

He flew off, leaving us alone. I saw Commissioner Gordon, Batgirl's father, sitting with his hands on his head. He was clearly stressed. I walked over to him.

"Thank God you showed up, Batman." He said. He sounded sincere, but clearly he'd had way too many late nights. "With Superman too."

"Did anyone escape?" I asked, my voice changer scrambling my voice, transforming it into a deep, electronic growl.

"Wel… most didn't. Bane did. Croc. Scarecrow. Deadshot. I think that's everyone... Oh, no, wait, Harley Quinn too."

"Great… I muttered, especially at the last one. Quinn and I had-had a brief sexual fling when we were on the Suicide Squad together. I hadn't had to see her yet since then, but I was not looking forward to it.

Colonel Rick Flag, who was now director of ARGUS, had shut Waller and the Suicide Squad down since the whole Trigon incident. He decided that a woman who would possibly sacrifice the world to get her Task Force X back together should not be in charge. Waller had since gone into hiding before she could be court martialed for war crimes. Apparently, it was illegal to place bombs in people, even if they were criminals. Who would've thought? All the members of Task Force X had been either returned to their original containment, like Quinn and Lawton, or had been released for good behavior and because they had served their sentence, like Bronze Tiger.

It wasn't good that they'd escaped though.

The Commissioner had become an interesting case. He was ready to retire. Been a cop in Gotham too long. He'd probably figured out that I was Batman. After all, he had found out that I was the Dayhound back before I was with the Titans. Once Bruce died, I became the owner of Wayne Incorporated. The Dayhound disappeared. Gordon was a good cop and a great detective. It probably didn't take him long to find out that I was Batman. Then, once I started "dating" Barbara, his daughter, he probably figured out pretty quickly that she was Batgirl. But he still hadn't said anything to anyone. He was tired, getting old. I figure he probably just wanted to get through these last years of his job with as little complication as Gotham would let him.

As I started to walk away, the Commissioner called out to me.

"What about the bomb?" He asked me.

"I'll handle it." I muttered without turning. "Send me what you already know."

I walked towards the site of the explosion. It was the north wall, the one furthest from the city, closest to the ocean.

"What do we do now?" Batgirl asked, approaching with Robin.

"Batgirl, Go on patrol. Robin, you're with me."

"What!?" My sidekick asked disappointedly. "I want to kick ass, not do dumb detective stuff!"

"This is part of the job." I growled at him. "It's more important than kicking ass."

He muttered something indecipherable, but didn't complain anymore. Babs went off to go on patrol. I sighed.

I didn't know how Bruce did it. Dick was around Jason's age when he started doing this. Bruce made it look easy, raising Dick and Me. We were his soldiers. Followed almost every order, fearing failure and, for the most part, doing exactly as he said. We were disciplined. Jason was disciplined with Bruce too, but I just couldn't get him to follow me like we followed Bruce. It wasn't lack of respect, because he definitely respected me, but I suppose I just wasn't as capable a leader as he was. A great hero, but I worked best alone.

I looked as the bomb site, evaluating every piece of evidence carefully.

"Robin," I said, getting his attention. He ran over to my side. I was going to turn this into a teaching moment. "What do you think happened? What do you see?"

"Just the leftovers of an explosion, nothing special." He said.

"You need to look closer. Concentrate. Get in the bomber's head."

"I'm no good at this stuff!" He yelled in frustration. I walked over to him.

"Jason," I said calmly, "That's why we are doing this. One day, you are going to replace me. You _need _to know how to do it."

He was quiet, then sighed. He stood back up from the ground and started looking at the crime scene.

"Let's see…" He said calmly, "Not much evidence that I can see, but we can try and profile the bomber based on some pretty safe assumptions."

I remained silent.

"It has to be someone casual. Someone who could carry a large object up to the walls of the Asylum without anyone thinking twice. My guess is an employee. Probably not a guard, because they go through extensive background checks and training. It was probably a member of the cleaning crew, because they could push a cart around and no one would know if there was a bomb in there or not."

"Good." I told him, "What can you tell me about the bomb?"

"Well… if I'm right about the cleaning cart, the bomb had to be incendiary in nature, because there is no pieces of the cart left. There is enough ash though. It also had to be pretty big, to smash a hole in the wall, since incendiary bombs usually don't do much damage."

"So what do you think it was?" I asked, testing him. He was right. I had already figured all this out, I just wanted to let him do it too. "Maybe Napalm? Or maybe gasoline? That could make a big enough explosion."

"No, it couldn't have been either. There's no trace of flame still, and with napalm there would be. It doesn't smell like gasoline either. It just smells like flame, almost as though it burned naturally."

"So what is it then?"

"I remember Batman… the _other_ _one_, mentioning a gunpowder from somewhere in China or Tibet or something that forms inside of trees. It is kind of a stretch, but that would be large enough."

"That's a good theory, but how would we prove that?" Though my voice remained emotionless, behind my helmet I was smiling. He was spot on.

"We _could _take samples of ash and take them back to the cave, but that would take a while. But I can't really think of anything else. And if we are wrong, that would be a waste of time."

"We can scan for organic samples. If it grows in a tree, then there will be organic traces left over. If there's organic traces, then it's very likely that you're right."

"You _knew, _didn't you?" He shouted, "Why did you make me come up with it?"

"I wanted you to know that you could do it." I told him, "And you're spot on. I have already scanned. There's a ton of organic matter left over. Once we take it back to the cave, we can figure out exactly what strain of the tree it's from, and what area that strain grows in."

"I outta blow _you_ up!" He said angrily.

I laughed.

"You figured it out, didn't you?" I asked lightly, "Take a sample back to the lab. I have… other business to attend to. Keep your radio on. If there's any trouble, shoot me a text."

"Yes Sir." He said, as he ran back to his motorcycle with the sample in hand. After he sped away, I got into the Batmobile.


	4. Chapter 4

Ch 4

The other "business" I had to handle was regrettably not Batman related. It was a date with Barbara. And her father, with his new girlfriend, Sarah.

Babs' mom and dad got divorced a few years ago, when I was in San Francisco with the Titans. She and I didn't talk much then, because of what happened at a prom we went to her senior year. Basically, while we were making out, I figured out a Batman related case. She wasn't a fan. That's probably why we couldn't have a real relationship now.

I walked into the restaurant and quickly found Babs, her dad, and Sarah sitting at a table next to the window. The Commissioner glared at me as I sat down.

"You're late." He said pulling his menu up, blocking my view of the aging man.

"Sorry." I apologized, "Got held up with the Board, you know how that is."

"You know," He said quietly, though angrily, "A bomb went off at Arkham Asylum tonight. I wasn't late still."

"Dad," Babs interrupted, "Be fair to him."

"Yes Jim, let's just try to have a good time!" Sarah agreed.

She was significantly younger than him. Probably 10 years or more. Though she looked a lot younger than she actually was. Overall, she was a pretty blonde woman. I don't know what she saw in the grumpy cop, but they were very much in love. I saw it in their eyes.

After we'd ordered, Gordon decided to make another attempt at small talk. Though I'd been "dating" Babs basically since I became Batman, I still really didn't know Gordon that well.

"So, Daniel," He said to me before sipping a glass of red wine, "How's business?"

"It's successful." I said, "The board wants to start making weapons again. I don't think that's what Bruce would've wanted though."

"Yes… I agree. Plus, it would be easier for criminals in Gotham to get weapons. And judging by some developments that Wayne Incorporated has made, I'm guessing that your weapons would be pretty advanced."

"Yeah…" I said awkwardly, "We could make laser guns or something."

What was his angle here?

Suddenly, I received a phone call on my cell phone. An unknown number. I pressed the ignore button and took a large gulp of my drink.

It was a nice champagne. Well aged. I still really wasn't a huge fan of drinking though. That time at Bruce's party all those years ago kind of ruined it for me.

Not a minute after I'd ignored the call, I received another call from an unknown number. I ignored it again, but received a text.

"ANSWER OR SOMEONE DIES" the text read. The person started typing again. "BATMAN."

What the hell?

I received a third call. I had to answer.

"Excuse me, a moment." I told the rest of the group. "I need to take this."

I walked over to the bathroom, made sure I was the only one in there, then jammed the door with a wedge-gadget I kept on me.

"Hello?" I asked as I answered the phone.

"Hello Detective." A scratchy voice said over the phone, "You are not an easy man to contact."

"Who the hell is this?" I growled, suddenly switching over to my Dayhound voice. I really hadn't used it since I became Batman.

"All in due time, Detective, all in due time." He said, calmly, "I want to talk first."

"Talk."

"My name is Ra's Al-Ghul." He said, "Or, more commonly known as the Demon. I assume you've heard of me?"

I remained silent.

"I would suggest you talk to me, Detective." He said, "I need to make sure you're listening. If not, I'm going to have to start shooting your table in that penthouse restaurant you're at. Beautiful dress that Ms. Gordon has on. Did you buy her that? Are those… pearls around her neck?"

"I get it, Ra's." I said, angrily. "What do you want?"

"To extend a challenge." He told me, his voice filled with humor, "You and I, we are destined to fight. I have killed the Arbiter of Death many, many times. I believe you are the most worthy opponent yet. I believe you are going to be the last Arbiter of Death."

"Why?"

"No one has done what you have. Killed Trigon. No hero and no Arbiter. I want to make sure you're up to the challenge of facing me."

"I'm not playing your games, Ra's." I growled at him.

"Oh, you don't have a choice, Batman." He said, laughing. "In 30 seconds, you'll have to save the Gordon family from sudden death. I'll contact you later to inform you of your next trials."

He hung up. Shit! I ran out into the restaurant, and suddenly, a bomb went off below us.

"Danny!" I heard Barbara scream. The part of the floor our table was on started to fall, but was stopped for a moment. I heard the metal of the building stress.

"Everyone, get out!" I yelled, as everyone began to panic. "Out the south door."

"Wilson! Come help me get Sarah out!" Gordon shouted at me. I slid down the collapsed part of the floor, but caught my footing. I tore my tie off and unbuttoned the top few buttons of my shirt. Sara reaches for my hand, supported by the Commissioner, but she couldn't reach. I grabbed onto one of the support cables hanging down from a hole in the roof.

"Sarah, listen to me." I yelled calmly. Flames started to burn larger in the building, "You have to jump. I will catch you."

She looked at Gordon. He nodded, though he looked nervous.

She leapt to me. I grabbed her wrist. She screamed, but my grip held true. I swung her up, tossing her through the air. She landed on the top, and looked back down.

"Jim!" She yelled. The floor collapsed a little more. Gordon caught the edge, but Barbara rolled off, starting to fall.

"Barbara!" He yelled. She screamed. I didn't think, I just jumped.

I soared through the air, not sure what I was going to do.

"Danny!" She screamed to me. I caught her in my arms. There was just one chance…

We started flying towards another building. I flipped us around, smashing through the glass of the window back first. We rolled as we hit the ground. It hurt. A lot. I was pretty sure I broke my arm. Probably a lot more.

"Jim!" I heard Sarah scream. I rushed towards the window to see the Commissioner falling through the air. I was about to jump, but Barbara grabbed me. I saw him slam into a car below, and my heart dropped.

Barbara dropped to her knees, sobbing. I hugged her tightly, despite the extreme pain in my arm. I heard sirens and Sarah screaming in the background.


	5. Chapter 5

"So let me get this straight." The paramedic checking me out said, "You and Ms. Gordon fell, but somehow you smashed through the window and happened to land _just_ right, and only Walk away with a broken arm?"

"I do a lot of BASE jumping." I said, shrugging, "and my arm is broken in multiple places as well, it's not like a small fracture in my radium."

"We need to take you to the hospital." He said to me.

"No." I said, "I am refusing transport. I have a ride on the way."

I walked over to Babs, who was sitting on the curb. She was basically unharmed, just some light bruising. She was shaken up though.

"How… how is he?" I asked, sitting next to her.

"He's alive." She said, leaning her head on the shoulder of my unbroken arm. "They aren't sure how much he's broken, but he may not survive the night."

I wrapped my arm around her as she started crying. I knew the feeling she felt too well. Every parental figure I'd had in my life had died. I was worried for her.

"Danny, how did this happen?" She asked, burying her face in my neck.

"I'm gonna find who did this, Babs…"i I whispered to her, "I promise."

Sarah came over and sat on Barbara's other side.

"Hey honey," She said, rubbing her back. "I'm gonna go to the hospital, if you and Danny want to come."

"Go Babs." I said to her, "I'm gonna head home and have Alfred look at this arm."

She and Sarah walked away. Sarah acted different. She may have lost the man she loved, but the way she looked at me, it felt like I wasn't human. I didn't feel human either.

After about 5 minutes, a black Cadillac with tinted windows pulled up. I walked to the back door and hopped in.

"Master Daniel, need i say anything?"

"Alfred… the commissioner is probably going to die."

He sighed as we started towards Wayne Manor.

"I assume we are launching a full investigation then, correct?"

"I already know who did it." I told him. "The League of Shadows."

"Oh dear… I assume they weren't targeting the Commissioner, then?"

"They were. But Ra's Al-Ghul called me and told me exactly what he was going to do. Alfred… I've never faced anything like this before. He said there's more to come. I don't know what to do."

"We fight, Master Daniel." Alfred encouraged. "Ra's doesn't know this, but you _aren't _alone."

"Well, he's about to learn." I said.

I passed out the rest of the ride. I was so tired from my near-death experience, so getting the sleep was nice.

I woke up in my bed, my arm wrapped in a heavy brace. I looked at the time. It was 4:30 am. I got out of bed, and made my way over to the door quietly. Five-ish hours of sleep was good. More than I usually got.

I sneaked over to Barbara's room. It was empty. She was laying in bed. I walked silently over to her. She seemed to be asleep. I thought for a moment about what had happened.

There had to have been a way I could've saved both of them. I replayed the whole event in my head. It was either him or Babs, I told myself. There was no way, right?

"Danny, I know you're there." She whispered, "Are you gonna say something or just stand there?"

"Sorry… I was just thinking…" I whispered back to her. She turned to me. Her eyes were red and puffy.

"Is he…?" I asked her.

"No, he's still alive. At least, He was when visiting hours ended, anyways. They haven't called, so he is probably still alive now."

"Babs… Barbara… I'm sorry…" I said, looking at the ground.

She knelt in her bed, and lifted my chin up, so I was meeting her gaze.

"Danny. This was _not_ your fault." She told me, angrily. She was mad that I was blaming myself. "You hear me? _Not _your fault. If you hadn't saved me, he would be mad at you. I know that he is glad you chose me. You can't blame yourself. I hate it when you do that. You can't!"

"I know who did this." I whispered to her. Instead of asking me, she just hugged me tightly. I wrapped my arms around her as well.

"Danny, lay down here with me." She told me. I hesitated, but laid myself down next to her. I wrapped my good arm around her waist and pulled her close. This is the most intimate we'd ever been since prom night, all those years ago.

"How's your arm?" She asked.

"It doesn't matter." I told her, "I can't stop to heal."

"You have to." She said.

"Babs… I can't. Ra's Al-Ghul won't let me. This is just the start of what he has planned."

"So why are you gonna do? Just go till your body gives out? Till you collapse? Till every bone in your body breaks?" She asked, quite angrily.

"I don't have a choice." I defended, "Everyone I've fought, Deathstroke, The Joker, Kameron, even Trigon, doesn't compare to this… monster. Barbara… I'm scared."

She looked me in the eyes, and then pressed her forehead against mine.

"I know." She whispered, "I am too."

Megan popped into my mind. If she knew, her heart would be broken. Barbara needed me though.

"The suit will protect my arm enough." I said, finally, standing back up, "But there's no time for Daniel Wilson right now. The world needs Batman."

"Wait, you aren't going out tonight again, are you?"

"I don't have a choice. Any moment, Ra's could call me, telling me about another disaster he's causing. I have to be ready. If I had-had the suit tonight, it would've been different."

"Danny-"

"Babs," I interrupted, "this is something I have to do."

She was silent. I left the room, and went to the cave. To my surprise, I saw Alfred down there, working on the suit.

"Ah… Master Daniel," He said as he saw me, "I was expecting you to be here earlier."

"I got held up in Barbara's room."

"Yes… how is she?"

"She's doing well, despite everything. The Commissioner's still alive."

"Good. He's a strong man. He'll live. For her."

"So, What do we have?" I asked.

"Mr. Fox sent some new pieces of armor." The butler explained, wiping grease from his hands with a rag, "I've replaced the damaged pieces, _and_ I have replaced the motors with new ones. These should be a little bit faster."

"Good." I said, looking at his handiwork. "Alfred, I'm going out."

"I thought you would. Though I don't approve, I understand why. Before you go, I have something I need to tell you."

"What is it?"

"I fear you may not think of me the same afterwards." He said, sitting down, "But, as the League closes in, it becomes more and more urgent."

"Alfred, what is it?" I asked, my voice filled with concern.

"A long time ago, Master Daniel, I was a special forces operative for the British Military. Similar to America's Navy SEALS. I was… the best, to say the least. An effective weapon, not unlike you or Master Bruce."

"I am aware of all this. Bruce told me."

"There's more to the story, I'm afraid. I have only told Master Bruce, and Master Thomas Wayne before him. They both have never told a soul. I didn't think I would ever have to tell you boys, but I also didn't think I would ever meet the Arbiter of Death."

"Alfred?"

"You see, Master Daniel, before employed by the Wayne's, I was on a mission in Nepal. My unit was lost in the snow. We were without food, and dying. I was the sole survivor. I had wandered through the Himalayas until arriving at a monastery in the mountains of a country called Nanda Parbat. They were… well the League of Shadows. I met the man Ra's Al-Ghul, and, being impressed with my abilities, allowed me to join them."

What? Alfred had been an assassin with the League of Shadows?

"I was the only male, besides the Demon himself, who had been allowed to join the League. It is… complicated, how I got out. But I need to warn you, Daniel, that this is not a man to be trifled with. I know firsthand."

"I don't even know what to say…"

"I understand, sir. And I would understand if you don't trust me. But know this. I owe my life to Thomas Wayne, and he asked me to take care of Master Bruce. And Master Bruce asked me to take care of you. So that is what I will do, even if it costs me my life."

"Thank you for telling me, Alfred."

"I think I owe it to you. There's enough secrets in this house. Well, you shan't dally much longer. There's a world to save, after all."


	6. Chapter 6

"What the hell? It's Batman! You're not supposed to be out, it's daytime!" A drug dealer cried as I attacked him and his crew.

"Think again." I growled. I dove on him, yanking him in the air with one hand. His crew fled. I slammed the dealer into a wall, cracking it. I didn't waste the effort chasing his crew though. I would only be able to get one, maybe two of them.

It was about 10:00 am and I still hadn't received a call from Rā's. I didn't like not knowing what he had planned, but he was ahead of me. Alfred had sent me all the documents he and Bruce had in the League, but I still was no closer to finding out their plans than before.

Finally, I received a call from an unknown number.

"Ra's." I said coldly, "What do I have to do?"

"Detective, you're getting ahead of yourself." He said humorously, "Who said we are continuing our little trial? You _did _fail to save all the Gordon's."

"I saved Barbara. That was the goal, right?"

"Touché, my Friend."

"I'm not your friend."

He laughed.

"I think of you as a dear friend, Detective." He told me, "You will come to think of me as such as well, I believe. But enough of that. Ready for your next challenge?"

"Talk."

"I believe you have met Harley Quinn? Well, she is in trouble, and you need to save her."

"Why?"

"You will have to figure that out on your own. You _are_ supposed to be the World's Greatest Detective, after all. Just be sure to hurry. The clock is ticking, Detective."

He hung up. I sighed. I was not looking forward to seeing Quinn again. I wasn't sure how I felt about her, but I also couldn't forget about her, because of the bite mark shaped scar she had left on my chest from our brief sexual fling.

Did I regret what we shared? No, I did not. My regret with Quinn was that I didn't help her when I totally could have. I sighed, and grappled up to a building. The Bat-Armor was hot during the daytime. I suppose I had never accounted for that, it being only night when I was Batman. I was lucky it was only springtime and not summer yet, otherwise I would've been boiling.

How was I gonna find her? Think Batman…

Shit, did I just refer to myself as Batman?

Just then, an idea popped into my mind. Amusement Mile. With the Joker having disappeared more than 7 years ago, that was probably the only part of the city that had become more chaotic. It had become overgrown with trees and vines. My guess is that Poison Ivy had taken over. There were probably still some of the Joker's gang there, but I shuddered to think about what other horrors were hiding in that Jungle-like wasteland.

As I made my way over, I definitely drew some attention. People weren't used to seeing Batman during the day. It was a very rare occurrence, and it hadn't happened since I had become Batman.

"Sir." I heard Alfred saying over comms, "It appears you're drawing a lot of attention to yourself. Has Ra's made contact yet?"

"I need to save Quinn. I have a hunch that she's in Amusement Mile. I need something to help me search that jungle."

"I know that Napalm is handy for burning jungles." Alfred joked.

"I don't want to start any part of the city on fire." I told him. "I need something smaller, more controlled."

"Let's see… i suppose I will send you a machete, since that seems to be the best thing that will work without burning the city down."

"Great. I am sending you my current route. Have the Bat-jet drop it off as close as you can to amusement mile. I don't want to be carrying a machete around through the streets."

The jungle was thick. It was too think for the Bat-armor, but I really didn't have much of a choice at this point. I had to hurry. I didn't know how much longer I had to save Quinn.

I stopped for a bit of a rest in a clearing. I didn't even really know where she was, or even how to track her. I had to think of a way to find her…

"Oracle," I said to the AI, "Scan left pectoral area."

"Scanning…"

I thought of a way, but it was a huge stretch.

"Reconstruct the teeth that made the scar."

"Reconstructing weapon."

A pair of holographic teeth popped up on my HUD.

"Alfred, I'm sending you some dental scans. Could you scan all active Amusement Mile security cameras to see if you can find anyone whose dental records match this?"

"As you wish, Master Daniel. This may take a while though…"

"We don't have any choice. This is our only lead."

I didn't think I would ever be thankful for the bite mark Quinn had left me during our brief sexual relationship while I was on the Suicide Squad. I had given her one too. We'd done it so we wouldn't forget. It had worked. Every time I took my shirt off, I thought of her.

"Sir," I heard Alfred chime in. It was a lot faster than I thought, "I have found Miss Quinzel. But you may not like where she is."

"Send me the location." I ordered.

She was at an old tenement building. Specifically, the one where my Mother had been murdered by the Joker. Ra's had planned this. There was no way it was a coincidence. I stood up to head that direction, but a shot fired, and glanced off my armor.

I spun toward the shooter, bu saw nothing. Another shot went off, nailing me in the back of the head, but glancing off the armor still. I dropped a few smoke bombs, then activated infrared vision on the cowl. I saw the outline of a man, running through the jungle. I grabbed a gadget from my belt, a pair of bolas, and tossed them towards him. They wrapped around his legs.

I sprang from the clearing and caught him, lifting him high into the air. Deadshot.

"What are you doing here?" I roared. Without saying a word, he aimed both of his wrist pistols at me and unloaded both clips. The shots bounced off my armor.

"Damn you, Batman!" He yelled. I socked him in the face. Not a great way to treat my former teammate, but he started it.

"Save your ammo! I'll ask you again, what are you doing here?"

"Same thing as you, probably!" He yelled, "Looking for Harley Quinn. Some guy told me to kill you, or he would kill her, but I figured it would be easier to look for her than to kill you."

I set him down on his feet. Why would he be looking for her?

"I wasn't aware that you cared for her or anyone but yourself." I said.

"I don't. Consider it a… professional courtesy. She's saved my ass a good amount of times."

"Help me find her then. We can do this together."

"Why? You just wanna lock her up again. I'm not gonna help you do that!"

"Lawton, what's more important here? We are better together. You know that!"

He gave me a weird look. It was just then I realized that I was in the Batman suit, but talking like I was Dayhound. He started to walk away, but I called out to him.

"Floyd! Wait!" I yelled. He slowly turned around, loading another clip into his gun. I sighed, and took off my mask.

"No damn way…" he said in complete shock, "You're that kid! The Dayhound! What the hell?"

"I need to find her, Lawton." I said seriously, "I… I do care about her. If Ra's kills her, I don't know what I will do. I won't take you back to Arkham after or anything. Just help me."

"I can't believe I'm saying this," he told me, extending a hand, "But you got yourself a deal, Batman."


	7. Chapter 7

"So this is the place then?" Deadshot asked over the radio I had given him.

He was on overwatch on a building much taller than the tenement.

"Yes." I replied, "I'm going to get on the roof. Is there anyone up there?"

"No, you're clear. What do I do then?"

"As soon as I get in, you make your way to the ground floor, then work your way up."

I shot my grapple gun at the roof of the tenement, then rocketed up until I was on top of the building. I approached the roof access door and pulled the knob off. I jammed my metal clad fingers in the hole that it left, and yanked the door open. Despite the fact that it destroyed the doorframe, it was fairly quiet.

I worked my way silently down the old staircase. Though it had been years since I had even seen this building, it felt all too familiar. It unnerved me. I felt my heart become overwhelmed by emotion, by grief, as I thought of my mother.

It had been almost 10 years since she died. Since she was killed by the Joker. The very man whose "girlfriend" I was going to save. Ra's must have done a lot of research about me. What else would he do to get at me like this? He had already killed Helena Bertinelli, my first love. Would he go after Megan next?

As I maneuvered through the building, soon realized that there was no one here. Not a single guard or anyone for that matter. Something was wrong. I finally met Deadshot again at the middle floor.

"Did you run into anyone?" I asked him. He shook his head.

"Maybe we are at the wrong place?"

"No. I know this is the right place." I told him.

"How?"

I hesitated. Should I tell him the truth?

"Because," I said, "this is where my mother was murdered. Ra's is targeting me."

Deadshot and I walked down a hallway on that floor cautiously. It was silent. Suddenly, a woman jumped down from the ceiling behind Deadshot, grabbed him, and put a large blade to his throat.

"Do not move, Batman!" She said in a heavy accent. This was one of Ra's' assassins. "Enter into the door on your right, then shut it. We may let this criminal go afterwards."

Without saying a word, I did as she said. Goddammit! We'd walked right into a trap. I should have known better, but i was distracted by this place.

"Hello Detective." A man said in a familiar voice as I entered the room. He was standing behind Quinn, who was tied to a chair and gagged. She saw me and started to freak out.

"You must be Ra's al-Ghul." I said, leaving my helmet on. He smiled.

"In the flesh."

"Let her go Ra's."

"I can't yet. Right now, I am the only thing keeping Quinn alive. You see, Detective, if I don't inject her with a serum every hour, a poison in her blood will reverse its flow and kill her. If I let her go without giving her the antidote, she will die. Is that really what you want, Detective?"

I held my tongue for a moment. I couldn't let Quinn die. It would be my fault. Besides, I know that I did really care for her. Our time together hadn't been just carnal.

"What do you want, Ra's?" I asked him calmly.

"I want you to listen, that's all." He told me, smiling, "I am going to give you one opportunity to end this early, Detective. In Nanda Parbat, there is a mountain near the monastery of the League of Shadows. I believe that traitor you are housing, Pennyworth, would know the place. If you think you are ready to face me, come there next week. If you don't come and fight me, I will be more than happy to continue our little trial to prepare you."

"What's the catch?" I asked. He smiled that thin, white smile.

"Trials of combat on the mountain can only end in death. Only come if you are ready to kill or be killed."

He threw me an IV bag, then jumped out the window. Damn him. I would have to stay and watch Quinn while the antidote went through her system while he escaped.

As I approached Harley with the needle, she started to freak out even more. She was scared of Batman.

"Quinn, you need to calm down." I said softly.

She continued to scream and struggle. I took off my helmet and looked her in the eyes.

"Harley, it's me. It's Daniel. I need you to calm down so I can help you."

She stopped struggling and nodded. I pushed the needle into her arm and hung the IV bag up in the ceiling with a nail. I took off her gag, and sat down on the ground in front of her. She was silent for a long time.

"You're not the real Batman, huh?" She finally asked. I sighed.

"No. He… well he died. So I took over."

"But Batman isn't supposed to kill people. And I know that you do."

"Not anymore."

Another long silence.

"Do you still have your um…"

"My bite mark?" I asked. She nodded. "Yes."

"Can I see it?"

I stood up, and removed the armor on my chest, showing Quinn the old bite mark scar she had given me years ago. She smiled.

"I still have mine too." She said, "if you cut me loose I can show you too."

"I can't get." I told her, "you need to stay as still as possible until that IV bag is empty."

"Well come over here then and see it." She said with a smile. I felt awkward, but I didn't want to give her any unneeded stress. I walked over and looked down at her left hip.

"You have to unzip me and pull down that side, silly. It was lower than that."

I hesitated, but unzipped her pants, then pulled down the left side as far as it would go. Though it was halfway covered by her underwear, I could see the outline of my teeth mark imprinted into her hip. I pulled her pants back up and zipped them.

I stood up, then backed away from her. She smiled, but her eyes started to look glossy and empty. What was wrong with her? She opened her mouth to speak, but her head fell down. Alarmed, I tore the IV from her arm.

"Alfred, I am sending you a sample. I need you to analyze it as fast as you can." I said, placing a bit of the liquid in the IV in a small container on my belt. I put my helmet back on and pulled her limp body from the chair.

"Oracle, actívate thrusters."

I flew back to the Wayne Manor, as fast as I possibly could. She was fading. I owed it to her to at least save her life.


	8. Chapter 8

"Good Lord, Sir!" Alfred said as I carried Harley's limp body into the Manor, "What are you doing, bringing that… that woman into our home!"

"She's dying, Alfred." I said, clearing the large dining room table of all objects. I placed Harley gently on the table, and tore off my helmet. "Did you analyze the sample I sent you?"

"I did." He said, walking over. "It was a certain venom from a rare rattlesnake. Thickens the blood. My Lord, she is burning up!"

"Will antivenom work for her?" I asked.

"Yes, but the venom isn't causing her to burn up like this! What did Ra's put in her?"

"Some kind of poison. Said it would reverse the flow of her blood. Do you know anything about it?"

Alfred went pale. He nodded, but didn't say anything for a while.

"I am afraid so, Master Daniel…" He said somberly, "Unfortunately, the only cure is found in Nanda Parbat."

"Alfred, you have to make a cure!" I said, raising my voice slightly. He put his head in his hands and shook it slowly.

"Master Daniel I-"

I grabbed him by the lapels of his coat and hoisted him into the air.

"Do it!" I roared. I saw fear in his eyes. What the hell was I doing? This was _Alfred_! I placed him gently back on his feet, then turned away in shame. This wasn't right. It wasn't me. It wasn't Batman.

"Alfred, I'm sorry." I said quietly, practically a whisper. "I don't know what came over me."

"It's quite alright, sir." Alfred said calmly, as though it hadn't even really happened. "I will start working on a cure. But don't give her an antivenom yet. It is slowing down her blood flow. Right now, that is the only thing keeping her alive."

Alfred left the room, leaving me and Harley by ourselves. She lay on the table, nearly lifeless. I felt so goddamn helpless. Bruce would've known what to do. He always knew. Why couldn't it have been me? If he had just let me die, he could've killed Trigon. That's what I told myself at least. He always found a way.

"Why couldn't it have been me?" I yelled into what I thought was an empty room.

"Which part?" A soft voice said behind me. Barbara. "Cause there's a lot of shit that 'could've been you,' Danny."

I didn't turn around, but placed my hands on my head. Barbara came over and sat by me, placing a hand on my back.

"We need to get you out of this suit." She told me, "You're getting too stressed out."

I looked at her, holding back tears. She was right. But my stress was not without reason. I felt like I had the weight of the world on my shoulders. I very well might have had it, actually.

Babs took me downstairs to the Batcave without another word. I stripped off the armor and we started sparring. It was just like the good old days, honestly. Whenever something bad or hard happened, it was me and her, in the cave, sparring. I had progressed a lot since I was 16, but so had Barbara. We were about equal, though I usually got more credit for my fighting that she did. Honestly though, were it her intent, she could probably kick my ass.

"Ra's has really gotten to you, huh?" She finally asked, as we took a break from fighting.

"Yeah, you could say that." I said to her. "I just don't know what to do, Babs. This guy seems to know everything about me. First he attacks you and your family, then he sends me to save Quinn at the very place where my mother was murdered. He knows everything about me, and you know what? That scares me."

"How do you know that?" She asked me.

"Because Quinn and I had sex. Quite a bit. In Qurac, when I was on the Suicide Squad."

"You're worried he'll go after Megan?"

I stared at her in disbelief for a moment. Barbara could read me super well. Nearly 10 years of working as close as we had would do that to someone, I guess.

"Danny, don't worry about her." She finally told me, "She's strong."

"So are you." I said quietly, "But he still nearly killed you. We don't even know if your Dad is alive anymore."

She went quiet, but there was determination in her eyes. Looking back on that, I think she knew that I needed her to be strong at that moment. Even though she was suffering worse than I was, I needed her more than ever.

"Go to her then." She finally said.

"I can't." I replied, "It's… been so long. I don't know how I can face her."

"Danny, you _love_ her. Don't let your shame stop you from being who she needs you to be. She needs _you_, Daniel. She needs Daniel Wilson, her husband."

"I don't know if I have time."

"What do you mean?"

"I have a duel with Ra's in a week."

"Then you have to see her. If you die…"

"I'm not going to die." I said, calmer than I had now. "He isn't going to kill me."

"But _if_ you die, don't you want to say goodbye first?"

Babs was right, as she often was. I was scared of Ra's. He had a determination that I had never seen in a man before. His confidence was through the roof. He was absolutely sure that he would be able to kill me on that mountain. That's why he gave me the choice to not show up. He knew, at least in his mind, that if I came to fight him, he would kill me. But I couldn't back down. If I could end this before he could hurt more people. Babs was about to lose her father. Harley was about to die. I couldn't let Ra's hurt anyone else.

"You're right, Barbara." I told her, "I need to see Megan. If I go fight Ra's, I have a very good chance of losing."

"What do you mean_?" _She asked me.

I explained everything that happened in the Tenement. She seemed angry and, as I predicted, told me I shouldn't go and fight Ra's if I had a choice. I explained to her that even though he gave me a choice, I didn't have one. I couldn't let him know that I was scared of him, and I couldn't let him hurt anyone else. If I died, it would be over. He would go back to hiding in the shadows.

She was right though. I knew I was probably going to die. No one had fought the Demon in a duel and lived.

She stormed off, angry that I would make such a decision. I decided to go see how Quinn was doing.

"Ah, Master Daniel." Alfred said, quite somberly.

"Do you have the cure?" I asked carefully, not wanting him to think that I would lash out again.

"I am… on the right path. But she won't survive by herself before it is done."

"What do you mean "by herself," Alfred?"

"I _did_ have an idea, but it is quite unpleasant."


	9. Chapter 9

I felt a little more relief knowing that Quinn was more safe. We had her cryogenically frozen in the Batcave. A little idea borrowed from Dr. Freeze, who kept his wife, Nora, frozen until he could develop a cure for her condition. Harley's would be a lot sooner.

As I flew in the Batwing over San Francisco, I felt a feeling of fear come over me. Not like how I feared Ra's, but I was just worried to confront Meg. I loved her, didn't I? What was stopping me, holding me back from seeing her? Was it the shame I felt from ghosting her, my wife? Or was it something else? Was I scared that I no longer loved her anymore?

I landed the Batwing on the roof of the T-Shaped Tower. It was not too late, I told myself, I could leave. No one had known I was coming, and no one knew I was here.

I couldn't though. I had to say goodbye, if this was the last time I saw her.

I stepped out of my plane, made my way over to the elevator. I was just gonna walk in?

The elevator ride, even going down just one flight felt like forever. I couldn't breathe. Maybe I just didn't breathe? I can't remember. I felt hot. My hands shook and started to sweat. Did I smell ok?

As I stepped off the elevator, I was assaulted from the side. A staff swung right at my head. I ducked, spun around, and grabbed my attacker's neck.

"Danny?" Dick said, absolutely stunned to see me.

"God, Dick," I said, letting him go. "I could have killed you! I am on edge right now."

"Sorry, shit." He said, hugging me for a second with one arm, "I didn't know you were coming."

"No one does." I said, chuckling at my small joke. There was a brief awkward silence, as though he knew why I was here. "Is… Is Megan here?"

He scowled at me. I knew why. He was disgusted that I would have the nerve to even ask a thing like that, after five years of not seeing her. I was disgusted with myself.

"Look," I finally said gravely, "I know that I am trash, but it's important. Very important."

"Danny what is going on?" He asked. His voice was light. He knew that there was something very, very wrong.

"I have a duel with a devil." I told him, wanting to keep my story brief, "I might not survive. I need to see her before I die. Tell her that I'm sorry."

He told me she was in her room, but that I should tread lightly. She was hurt. She hadn't been the same happy-go-lucky girl since I had become Batman. She may not want to see me. I couldn't blame her, honestly, but Alfred and I were headed for Nanda Parbat tomorrow, so I didn't have much of a choice.

I made my way quietly down the hall, hoping that I didn't run into any of the other Titans. It would've been awkward, and frankly, I didn't want to see them. I just wanted to see her. I was ok with seeing Dick, because he was like a brother to me, but I was here for one reason only.

Outside her door, I found myself wondering if I should knock or just enter. It took me longer to decide than I wanted, but I eventually just knocked softly on the aluminum portal.

"Come in!" I heard Megan say. I took a deep breath, turned the handle, and pushed the door open.

Both Meg and Kori stared at me, both unsure of what to say. It was shocking, honestly. Usually Kori greeted me by yelling and hugging me. Not this time. My first instinct was to walk out. Walk right back up to the roof, get in the Batwing and take off. I couldn't do that though. I couldn't even move. Their stares had turned me to stone.

I cleared my throat.

"Um… hey." I finally said roughly, "Kori, can um… can Meg and I talk?"

The two women exchanged looks, then Kori stood up. As she passed me, she gripped my bicep and squeezed lightly. It was a gesture of affection. Thank God, at least _she _didn't hate me completely. Though there wasn't a hateful bone in that girl's body… It made me feel a little better though.

I sat down across from Meg, where Kori had been. The air in the room was heavy. I felt like I was moving in slow motion. I was unsure of what to say.

"Meg… I don't even know what to say." I said quietly.

"Well figure it out, quickly." She told me. There was a cold sharpness in her voice. She was pissed.

"I don't have much time left." I finally said, "I know that I am a jerk, and that I should've called you at the very least, but I didn't."

I paused to let her speak, but she said nothing. She just stared at me.

"The truth is, I don't know what came over me. I was just so shocked and grieved by Bruce's death that I didn't want to talk to anyone. When I was finally emotionally ready, I was… I was too ashamed that I had ignored you for so long."

"So you ignored me for even longer?" She questioned. She leaned towards me, subtly fighting back tears. I couldn't tell if she was angry or heartbroken. Probably both. "Danny, it has been five years. _Five years,_ since I have heard a single word from you, and you're gonna tell me it was because you were _ashamed_?"

"I know it sounds like I am making this shit up, but I am not. You can… read my mind. But I am just… I am so sorry, Megan. Like, I really screwed up. And I know that you're mad, and that I have no right to come waltzing back in here, but I just… I needed to see you."

"So you can what? Win me back? Is Batgirl not as good in bed or something? Hm?" She raised her voice. She was a bomb that was ready to explode.

"Goddammit Meg, it's not like that and you know it." I said, raising my voice as well.

"What is it like then, hm? You think you could ignore me for years, start living with Barbara Gordon, then come waltzing back into my life whenever the hell you want? That's not how this works, Danny!"

"Megan, I came to say I am sorry!" I yelled finally. I needed her to shut up and listen to what I have to say. "I am sorry. I am not trying to win you back or whatever. I know that I am past the point of taking back, but I am so, so sorry. I can't die without you knowing that leaving you was the worst mistake of my life!"

She was silent. I think she was shocked at what I was saying.

"Megan, I love you." I told her, lowering my voice back down, "Leaving you was the worst thing I have ever done. Not a day goes by that I don't regret it. But now isn't the time to argue. I just needed you to know that I am sorry."

She was silent for a long time, processing what I was saying. It was probably about 5 minutes before she said anything.

"Danny are you… are you dying?" She asked calmly.

"I am fine right now." I told her, "But tomorrow, Alfred and I are going to Nanda Parbat to fight Ra's Al-Ghul. I… I may not survive. I probably won't. But I couldn't die without seeing you again. Without telling you how sorry I am and how much I love you."

She was stunned. In this life, the life of a hero, you come to the point when you think that you're invincible, and that your friends are invincible. Death is always just completely shocking. It has been every single time I have lost someone. Batman, my mom, Kameron, Helena. It was my time, I told myself. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't come to terms with it.

Finally Megan spoke.

"Don't go." She told me, squeezing my hand tightly.

"Meg, I have to. He's gonna hurt everyone I love unless I stop him."

"We'll run. Hide. Change our names. But don't go face him. You… you can't. I don't want to lose you again."

Tears ran down her face. I wiped them away, holding back my own. How could I march to my death while the love of my life was begging me not to?

We were silent for a long time, clutched in each other's arms. It felt good, to hold her again. I had longed for this for a long time. Years. How could I leave her?

"Megan," I finally whispered, "I have to go. The truth is… I am scared of him. You don't know what he's capable of. I almost lost Barbara, one of my best friends, and Harley Quinn might die now because of me too. Ra's hasn't tried to hurt you yet, but if I don't go face him, he won't stop. If I die, at least he will leave you alone."

Megan kissed me softly. We paused, our noses against one another's. I kissed her again. This time, for much longer. She moved and sat down on my lap, kissing me. I finally stopped.

"What's wrong?" She whispered.

"I can't do this." I told her quietly, "I don't want to do this then leave you again."

"Danny, I love you. I was pissed, heartbroken. I still am. But this may be our last moments together. Let me have this."

I didn't say anything.

"Stop me if you don't want to." She said right before she started kissing me again. I picked her up. She wrapped her legs around my hips and smiled through the kiss. I put her down on the bed, and stood up. I took of my shirt, and she smiled. I started kissing her again. She rolled me over and straddled my hips, unbuttoning her shirt. I sat up and started kissing her neck and chest. Before long, we both had each other's pants off.

The anger she felt, the heartbreak, was mended through the love we tenderly made that day. It didn't last though. I knew that it couldn't. But I swore to myself and to Megan that if I survived, if I was somehow able to stop Ra's, I would come back to her. We would give up this life, as we'd planned, and live a normal life. Adopt kids. Raise a family. I knew it too. I wasn't lying this time.

After we redressed ourselves, we left her room. A group of Titans were waiting for us outside the elevator.

"Guys?" I asked, unsure of what to think, "What's going on?"

"You think you can just come here, then leave without saying goodbye to the rest of us?" Cyborg asked.

"No, it's not that. I just didn't want to complicate things more." I told them.

"Because you are going to possibly die?" Starfire asked. I looked at her questioningly. "I um… was listening at the door. I did not listen to all of your love making though."

Megan and I both blushed. Everyone laughed.

"Friend Daniel," Starfire said, "You _must _let us help you! We don't want you to die!"

"Yeah man," Beast Boy added, "You're our friend and we are a team. We can help you!"

"Thanks guys, but not an option. I don't want any of you to get hurt."

"Typical Batman." Dick said, shaking his head, "When are you gonna learn that you need us."

"Hey, if I remember correctly," I told him, punching his shoulder, "You guys needed me a lot more that I needed you. Besides, Kori must've heard wrong. I am not gonna die. I will defeat Ra's and come right back here to celebrate with you guys. We'll have a party. I'll pay for everything. I am a billionaire now, after all."

Sure, I lied to them. But it was necessary. I couldn't risk them, my best friends, as well. Meg understood. She always understood me better than anyone, probably because we were linked. But they were determined to help me. I couldn't let them.

After I said my goodbyes, I went back to the Batwing to find Alfred waiting for me.

"Shall we head to Nanda Parbat, sir?" He asked me.

"Yes, Alfred." I said sadly, "Let's go fight a Demon..."


	10. Chapter 10: The Head of the Demon

Chapter 10- الراس الغول (Arabic: _Al-Ra's Al-Ghul,_ The Head of the Demon)

"Master Daniel," Alfred said grimly, "We are approaching the mountain of the Demon. I suggest you get in your suit."

Without a word, I got out of my chair and over to the platform where a machine started to put the suit on me. I didn't know what to say. The ride over had been basically silent. I wasn't ready. I didn't want to die. _That _is what would keep me alive. My determination to get back to Meg, to Dick, to Jason and Barbara. I had to.

Once we were suited up, Alfred sighed.

"I don't suppose I could convince you last minute to change your mind about this?" He asked me. I shook my head as the suit's eyes lit up, finalizing the system reboot.

"I don't have any choice" I said in my now-distorted voice said. Alfred shuddered, despite hearing the voice for years now. It was the same frequency that Bruce had used. Our voices were basically identical.

"Detective." Ra's smiled as Alfred and I exited the Batwing. "And Al-Syf. What a pleasant surprise to see you."

"Ra's." Alfred said with disgust. Ra's put on a face that was somewhere between a smirk and a grimace, baring his teeth like the fangs of a beast.

"This is between me and you, Ra's." I hissed. His angry smirk changed in an instant to a calm grin.

"Of course, Detective." He laughed, "As long as this traitor doesn't interfere…"

One of the Leagues Ninja's approached Ra's and bowed, holding her an ancient scimitar out. Ra's took it and whirled it around, getting into his stance. I looked over at Alfred, who lowered his face. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his trench coat as the snow started to fall lightly. I also took my fighting stance.

"Ready, Daniel?" Ra's said. I nodded. We drew near, meeting in the middle of the circular shaped mountain.

I jumped, sending a flying punch at my foe. He hit it aside with the blunt of his blade, and kicked me in the gut. The kick was surprisingly strong, and sent me flying through the air. I used the upward momentum to flip and land gracefully. It was Ra's turn to be on the offensive.

The Demon slashed at me with his scimitar. I blocked it with the armor plating on my arms, but he spun sending a kick towards the back of my head. It made contact, sending me stumbling. I used this momentum as well, but to sweep Ra's' legs from under him.

He grunted as he hit the ground. I stomped towards his chest, but he rolled out of the way and was back on his feet. He wasn't prepared for my lightning fast reflexes that were only enhanced by the upgrades that Lucius had installed in the Bat-Armor.

He staggered as my titanium-alloy palm bashed him square in the nose. He started to bleed. Stabbed his sword into the snow and touched the drop of blood with the tip of his finger.

"_Very_ impressive, Batman" The Demon complimented. He smiled. "So impressive, that I am going to give you a choice. Bring him out!"

Two of Ra's female ninjas brought a thin, malnourished man out from the tent that they had set up. He had a bag covering his head.

They forced him to his knees and yanked the sack off. Though his green hair was much longer and his face hollow, I recognized that pale complexion and wide, red grin on his face. The Joker.

He laughed through his gag when he saw me. One of the ninjas smacked him in the back with a whip. He whimpered and looked down to the ground. What the hell?

"I have been preparing for this for a long time, Detective." Ra's told me, "Longer than you know."

Ra's walked slowly over to me, placing his sword into my hands.

"Kill him, the man who _slaughtered _your mother, and join me. You will eventually succeed me, and take your rightful place as Head of the Demon."

I looked at him. I was shocked, though my helmet did not betray my feelings. I looked at him.

"Ra's stop this!" Alfred yelled. Ra's turned and smiled.

"Oh, you mean he doesn't know?" He laughed. The Butler furrowed his eyebrows and clenched his fists. "You haven't told him, Al-Syf?"

"I didn't tell him because he would never make such a god-awful choice!" Alfred yelled. That was the first time I had heard Alfred like this. He was enraged. It wasn't him. It was Al-Syf, his League name. "The Sword" if my limited Arabic was correct.

"Tell me what, Alfred?"

"Should I tell him, or do you want to?" Ra's asked. Alfred shot daggers with his eyes at him, then looked at me.

"Master Daniel…" He said, staring at the ground "There is a part of the prophecy that only members of the League know."

The Prophecy, that he referred to, was that I was destined to kill Ra's. Well, the Arbiter of Death, the Great Betrayer, was destined to kill him. I was just the instrument in its hands. I was silent and gave my full attention to Alfred.

"The other part of the prophecy…" He continued, "Is that the Arbiter's human avatar (you) can, instead of Kill the Demon, succeed him. Become the Demon."

Ra's laughed. I looked at the Clown Prince, then at the Blade in my hand.

"It would be so _easy_," Ra's told me, "Kill the clown, then rule the world from the shadows."

"Master Daniel, I-" Alfred started to say. Ra's threw a dagger at him. I was expecting him to fall, but he caught the blade as it twirled through the air.

"I won't do it, Ra's." I said, throwing the sword on the ground. Ra's grimaced, then took a katana from one of his ninjas.

"Pity." He said, biting the inside of his cheek to hide his rage, "Take the Clown back to Gotham. He can burn that city for all I care. I will finish the Bat."

One of the ninjas punched Joker in the face, knocking him out. They dragged his limp body somewhere. I didn't much care where at that time. I had to end this.

Ra's and I battled for a long time. His blade was sharp. Very sharp. It cut and damaged my armor, knock whole junks off and cutting through the exosuit. I eventually had to leave it all. I attacked, he parried or dodged. He attacked, I dodged most of them. I couldn't win. I knew I couldn't. Without the suit, I had no advantage on him. He, on the other hand, knew how to fight better than anyone I had ever fought.

Armorless, I continued the fight. I threw a series of punches at him, all of which he blocked with the side of his blade. He laughed, and I threw a wild, exhausted kick at his face. He threw it down, sending me to the ground. On my back, he raised his sword to head, ready to stab it through my heart. I closed my eyes, prepared to meet death, until a voice was heard in the darkness

"Ra's Al-Ghul, I command you to stop this instant!" Alfred shouted. I opened my eyes to see Ra's turn his attention towards the Butler. "I remember the rules of a duel on this mountain. I am allowed to take his place and fight for him."

"This is different Al-Syf!" Ra's screamed, childishly. It shocked me.

"It is _not_. You need to respect the ancient traditions. Or your League cannot follow you anymore."

Ra's turned towards his ninjas. They all looked at each other, emotionless. But I could tell that Alfred was right by the way they held their hands on the hilts of their swords, ready to strike if he refused Alfred's offer.

Ra's looked furious, but then completely changed his expression. He started to laugh.

"Well played, Pennyworth." He smirked, "You have yet again proved to me that you have a place in the League. You truly are the Sword."

Alfred grabbed a katana that one of the ninjas handed him and got into a stance of his own.

The two dueled for a long time. I had no idea, but Alfred was a master swordsman. Better than anyone I had ever seen. Ra's was going to lose and he knew it. Until he did something shocking. He placed both his hands behind his back as Alfred stabbed, stepping only slightly to the side. The blade plunged into the Demon's chest. He grunted. Alfred shoved the blade even harder in his rage, but stopped with a look of shock as Ra's started laughing.

"What are you doing?" Alfred asked. The Demon plunged his own sword straight into the Old Man's chest, through his heart, and out his back. All that escaped the Butler's lips was a short, wheezing noise as he collapsed to the ground.

Ra's pulled Alfred's sword from his own chest, coughed a little, then wiped the blade clean.

"Alfred!" I cried as I crawled over to his body. His mouth was filling with blood as he moved it to try and form a sentence. His eyes stared blankly into mine. He placed a hand on my cheek, wiping away tears that I didn't even notice were flowing. Then, the life left him.

"You bastard!" I screamed, picking up my own discarded blade. I charged wildly at Ra's, but he plunged Alfred's sword into my gut.

"I can't kill you here." Ra's' voice was a low, dark growl, "Because Al-syf took your place." He withdrew the blade, "But I don't help you survive."

Blood poured from my wound. I tried to swing a fist at Ra's, but it just fell limply to my side. I collapsed to the ground next to Alfred, as blood emptied from our bodies, dying the snow around us a dark crimson color. Then, the world went dark.


End file.
